OVERCROWDING in Irish prisons is spiralling out of control, in what experts are calling a national ‘crisis’.
With facilities operating at nearly 120% capacity, over 400 inmates are currently sleeping on floors.
This mirrors a broader trend across Europe, where the prison population grew by almost 4% in 2023 alone.
Tougher sentencing laws and years of underinvestment in prison infrastructure have all added to the problems facing the prison service today.
While the government has announced plans to build 1,500 additional spaces, insiders and unions warn that construction delays and rising inmate numbers mean this alone won’t solve the problem.
“The system is beyond stretched. Staff shouldn’t be working in these conditions,” said Irish Prison Officers Association President Tony Power, who has called for urgent investment in current facilities.
Rehabilitation services are also suffering.
Nearly 2,000 inmates are waiting for access to psychological care, addiction treatment, education, and vocational training.
The Director General of the Irish Prison Service, Caron McCaffrey, acknowledged that some prisoners are released before receiving essential support and urged for a coordinated government response to boost in-prison services.
In an effort to manage numbers, the Prison Service has expanded its temporary release programme for non-violent offenders.
While controversial, officials argue it is a necessary safety measure.
Critics, however, view it as a short-term fix that fails to address systemic problems.
Professor Tom O’Malley SC, a leading authority on sentencing law, suggests that courts could consider reduced sentences as a form of judicial accountability – a practice already used in Britain during the COVID pandemic.
Prisons are facing new and complex security threats as well.
Criminals are using high-tech drones to smuggle drugs and phones into Irish prisons, taking advantage of a lack of aerial surveillance due to aviation regulations.
Other European nations are also grappling with similar problems.
French prisons reached record high in population figures this year, with thousands sleeping on the floor.
In contrast, Spain has adopted a more rehabilitative model with promising results – 80% of released prisoners there do not reoffend.
The Irish Penal Reform Trust has urged the government to treat imprisonment as a last resort, advocating instead for alternatives like community service and supervised release.
With violence and deaths in custody rising, experts warn that the system is drifting away from its purpose to correct and rehabilitate people for a productive life in a peaceful society.